So I finally found my manual (for the cd key) and have the game running.

I downloaded some mods. No mod folder to put them in. I did some reading here. One person said to update the game and run it once, then the mod folder appears. I updated the 2.16 patch, played a couple of turns and no mods folder.

I have done this twice before in the past and both times there was a mods folder, so I'm missing something this time around, I guess. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.